Inevitable
by Shadows Twilight
Summary: Deep down, Holly knew from the day she befriended a human that this day would come, but now that it's here, she wasn't sure if she could handle it alone. My first proper fanfic, reviews are appreciated.


Inevitable

Artemis Fowl the Second lay comfortably in his bed. Beside his bed, a small machine emitted a steady series of beeping sounds, and a tube connected to a needle in his arm led to a small pouch of clear liquid. Artemis tried to take comfort in the medicine flooding his system, but he knew all the medicine was doing was giving him a few extra minutes. He could feel it in his limbs: a strange coldness like he had never felt before.

Artemis allowed himself a small chuckle. A strange coldness like he had never felt before? He had gotten poetic in his old age.

Artemis could hear his niece downstairs, talking with the doctor. Megera was a sweet girl, and Artemis had treasured the relationship with Myles's daughter. Her concerned, almost flustered conversation with the doctor trying to help her Uncle saddened the elderly genius. He had long accepted his fate. He was an old man, it was time. It pained him to know how far in denial his niece was, and how hard it would affect her when he was gone.

Despite the large amount of less-than-morally-correct deeds he had done throughout his long life, Artemis Fowl the Second had no regrets.

A slight shimmer in the corner of his room caught Artemis's eye.

Well, perhaps there was one regret.

"It's good to see you, again, Commander," Artemis said, his lip stretching into his signature smug smile. "Or at least it would be, if I could actually see you."

A small humanoid figure shimmered into visibility. The female figure was a mere three foot tall, with nut brown skin and short auburn hair. Her ears tapered to a point, and she stared at the genius lying in front of her with mismatched eyes: one blue, one hazel.

Commander Holly Short smiled at her old friend as she stepped from the shadows.

"Hello, Artemis," she said in a soft, quivering voice.

Artemis smiled back. He could tell that Holly was trying to hide how many tears she had shed in the last few days, but the redness in her eyes told Artemis all he needed to know.

Holly had told herself that she was ready for this. After Butler, than Juliet, Holly had managed to convince herself that she was used to the idea that she would outlive her human friends, and that the day would come when Artemis's time would come.

Deep down, Holly always knew that this day would come, but now that it was here, she wasn't sure she could do it again.

She slowly stepped forward, coming closer. Artemis smiled as his closest living friend came to him, and struggled to raise his hand to reach out for hers.

Holly almost lost it right then and there. Seeing Artemis so weak was more than she could take. She reached the side of his bed and slowly accepted his outstretched hand.

A single tear escaped the corner of the LEP Commander's eye as she looked upon the ninety-seven year old man dying in front of her.

"How's it going, Mud Boy," she whispered to him.

"I've had worse days," the old man said plainly. Holly tried to say something, but a small sob caught it in her throat. Artemis looked passed Holly to the empty corner.

"You came alone?" he asked.

Holly nodded weakly, "Foaly wanted to come, but Callibine had the baby this morning. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't leave her."

Artemis nodded. He had expected as much.

Tears welled up in Holly's eyes.

"Is there nothing I can do?" she half said, half cried.

Artemis frowned and shook his head.

"I can't keep dodging it, Holly. This day had to come eventually. No amount of magic could stop that."

Holly nodded and bowed her head. She couldn't contain the tears any longer. They flowed from her eyes freely.

"I…" she stated to say, but the words caught in her throat for a second, "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Don't worry," Artemis smiled and reached for Holly's face. He cupped her cheek in his palm, and wiped away the tears from beneath her bright blue eye, the eye that shined with the same color as his own.

"At the risk of sounding like a hopeless romantic, a part of me will always be with you."

Holly couldn't help but let out a small laugh. She put her hand over the Artemis's, and kissed his palm.

Holly stared deep into Artemis's bright blue eyes, as he stared into her mismatched ones. They held that gaze until the end. The steady beeping of the machine behind Holly came slower, and slower, until it emitted a soft, steady tone. The light left the man geniuses eyes, and his hand fell from her face.

A sob escaped from Holly's throat, and she covered her mouth with her hand, as she knelt at the bed's side, and she wept at the side of Artemis Fowl the Second, the greatest mind the world had ever seen, and the greatest man, and greatest friend, that Commander Holly Short had ever known.


End file.
